Results matching “john tortorella”

Last season: (38-33-11, 87 points, 4th in Atlantic Division, 9th in Eastern Conference) The Rangers fell a shootout win short of making the playoffs then watched as the Philadelphia Flyers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. Ouch. The team depended a lot on young players, Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist and…

To the surprise of virtually no one, New York Rangers recently waived defenseman Wade Redden has cleared waivers and will be sent to AHL camp with the Hartford Wolfpack. With that, Redden’s $6.5 million cap hit disappears to the AHL and the race for the spot on the Rangers blue line is on. With the…

One of the stranger stories that took place during last night’s surprisingly jam-packed night of interesting preseason action came during a heated exchange between Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils and Sean Avery of the New York Rangers. Some people – including Rangers GM Glen Sather – wondered if Kovalchuk made a “cutthroat” motion…

Now that the Rangers have cast defenseman Wade Redden aside on waivers with the intent of sending him to the AHL to rid themselves of his $6.5 million cap hit, the Rangers will have to figure out who, exactly, is going to take his spot along the blue line. Redden’s production last year wasn’t outstanding…

With training camps starting late this week or early next, we at Pro Hockey Talk couldn’t help but wonder: what are the biggest position battles going in? To give you the most specific answers possible, we asked team bloggers to give their take. After all, these men and women follow their teams almost as much…

Being a head coach in professional sports is often a risky proposition but the NHL is a particularly cruel place for a bench boss. Aside from outright anomalies in Buffalo (Lindy Ruff) and Nashville (Barry Trotz), hockey coaches experience about as much job security as college football coaches show loyalty. ESPN’s Scott Burnside released his…

If reports are to be believed, WKBW out of Buffalo is reporting that free agent forward Tim Kennedy, who’s been searching for a new team after being waived by the Buffalo Sabres, is going to sign a contract with the New York Rangers. If he signs with the Rangers, he’ll provide some improved forward depth…

This summer for the New York Rangers has been a relatively quiet one. With Glen Sather in charge and always in the mix on free agents and trades, the lack of big moves out of Manhattan for a team that missed the playoffs last year is a bit curious. The team brought back Vinny Prospal…

During a conference call today, Nikolai Zherdev referred to himself as a “two-way player.” In other news from Bizarro Land, I condemn puns, hate bacon and find Madonna interesting. All joking aside, the talented Russian winger claims that he’s improved in one of the areas that once made Ken Hitchcock and John Tortorella pitch fits.…

While fans wait to hear about what one Russian superstar will do about his future in the NHL (or KHL), word came out today that one enigmatic Russian scorer is close to returning to the NHL after spending a year away in Russia. Former first round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets and ex-New York…

The New York Rangers are about to make life interesting on both head coach John Tortorella and general manager Glen Sather. The Rangers have signed prospect defenseman Ryan McDonagh and while that’s a great thing overall for the Rangers it puts them in a curious position, one which Glen Sather probably doesn’t mind. The Rangers…

Derek Boogaard’s job in the NHL is a simple-to-explain yet difficult-to-do job. He’s out there to intimidate opponents, fight other enforcers and generally be a menace to everyone on the ice. He’s not a goal scorer by any means (he hasn’t scored a goal since his rookie season in 2005-2006 and has a 222 game…

While Glen Sather continues to play hardball with Rangers fans by giving enforcer Derek Boogaard a four-year contract while not getting a contract settled with restricted free agent defenseman Marc Staal, he is making sure to take care of the growing stable of talented youth in Manhattan. Of course, if you’re a fan of the…

There’s good news and bad news for the Atlanta Thrashers as they enter the first off-season of the post-Ilya Kovalchuk era. The glass half-full side will point to their $31 million-plus in cap space and handful of decent young players such as Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian. On the other hand, the team has as…

Former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning and overall bust Alexander Svitov is apparently coming back to America according to Chris Botta of FanHouse. A 6-foot-3 center, Svitov was the third overall pick in the 2001 draft. He struggled as a 20-year-old under coach John Tortorella in Tampa Bay and was traded to Columbus…

Earlier today, Brandon posted about how there’s some seemingly logical scuttlebutt about how Ken Hitchcock makes sense as the successor to Jacques Lemaire in New Jersey as head coach. The comparisons are easy to make as Hitchcock’s defense-oriented system mimics that of what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in New Jersey the last 15 years…

Let me say this: there could not be a funnier (or more fitting) way for the New York Rangers’ season to end than with Olli Jokinen failing. Jokinen is a symbol of all that is wrong with the team. Sure, I actually liked the idea of Glen Sather trading for Jokinen for a simple reason:…

As the Comcast Sportsnet announcers pointed out, Jody Shelley went 62 games without a goal but now has a goal in two consecutive games. Oh, and those goals are coming in absolutely the most important contests the Rangers have played in the 2009-10 season. He has three points in his last five games, accounting for…

All five games have at least some playoff implications (at least for seeding), but Detroit-Columbus and Colorado-Edmonton lack some of the sizzle of the other three matches. Those two games are more about trying to leapfrog other teams or keeping their place in line. The other three are a little more interesting, with New York…

Admittedly, I “slept” on the results from ESPN’s Confidential Players poll for a bit, but after hearing some complaints about the answers being restricted by “Insider” status on Twitter I thought I’d share some of the more interesting results. (Yes, I am an Insider. Yes, I paid for it myself.) Now, naturally, all the results can be found…

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers 12:30 p.m. EST – Sunday, March 21, 2010Live on NBC Let’s face it. The Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers are flailing. While they tread water and fail to actually grasp hold and take charge of the situation they’ve each been given the Atlanta Thrashers have snuck up…

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers 12:30 p.m. EST – Sunday, March 21, 2010Live on NBC I can sum up why the New York Rangers will pass the Boston Bruins for 8th in the East and grab a playoff spot in two words: Sean. Avery. No other player in the NHL has the ability to…

Most interviews with hockey players seem to fall under three categories: The cliche-soaked interview. The cliche-soaked interview by a player soaked with sweat. Awkward interview with a dude who knows five words of English. Indeed, it’s rare to come across moments that are truly riveting (although John Tortorella certainly is a trailblazer when it comes…

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers 12:30 p.m. EST – Sunday, March 21, 2010Live on NBC With less than four weeks remaining in the season, the playoff races are starting to heat up. In the West, Detroit is doing it’s best to hold off Calgary and St. Louis and it’s most likely going to be…

I never really understood why the New York Rangers picked up Sean Avery last season. I understand the thought process and the reasons behind it; Avery could be had for half of his salary and the team and fans needed him at the time. But in the time where it was known that the Rangers…